


swordplay

by orphan_account



Series: SaiOuma AU Fics [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Blushing, Crushes, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff, Genderbending, Genderswap, Knights - Freeform, Magic, Out of Character, Play Fighting, Secret Crush, Sparring, Swordfighting, Swordplay, Swords, Swords & Sorcery, Witches, gay witch and bi knight have a fun time sparring, shuichi and kokichi are like uh 20, theyre a bit ooc, this totally isnt fe3h ch1 inspired ahahahaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23149705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: All Kokichi wanted to do was impress her.--gay witch woman has a spar with her crushthats pretty much it
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Series: SaiOuma AU Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799392
Comments: 6
Kudos: 90





	swordplay

Laced fingers grasp onto the leg of the sword, slowly drawing it from the metal barrel that sat near the exit. Carefully, Kokichi drags it up, wobbling slightly at the weight. 

She wasn’t the strongest of the bunch, frailer than a handful of students, and much more used to magic than weapons, so holding the blade proved somewhat of a challenge. Yet, she pays the discomfort no mind, trying her best to fixate her unsteady standing into a proper stance.

Winning was out of the question, definitely. However, if she was at least going to impress Shuichi, she needed to endure.

The woman ahead of her gives a smile, one that seemed sweet at surface value, but if you were observant enough to notice, held a droplet of pride. You had to be careful of even the sweetest of these grins, for the woman they belonged to could hide so much more behind them. Years of teaching together in the same monastery had taught Kokichi one thing: Shuichi was a trickster of emotions that could fool just about anyone whenever she pleased.

Shy, yet clever. Just the way she liked it.

“Is there a problem, Oma?” She says with that same, deceitful, concocted smile that nearly made Kokichi swoon. Oh, how she could hide absolute wonders behind that mask of hers. Fabricate entire moods that contradicted what she was truly feeling.

“No, not at all.” The witch says pridefully, her body fully adjusted to the weight of the sword. “I just haven’t risen steel in a while, the fault of the Empire for showing me what magic really feels like.”

“Shame to the Kingdom for teaching me how to swing a blade, then.”

Having two of the best professors in the monastery fight one another, all with tactics that were the opposite of what they were familiar with. An interesting idea indeed. Who had suggested it? Kokichi couldn’t recall, but an honour to them for being creative.

Of course, Kokichi could wield a sword if she had to, and Shuichi bore magic in times of need, but they’d grown accustomed to the contrary. The Vudian Empire and the Kingdom of Xeador had different ideals of raising their soldiers, and though some chose to stray away from tradition, the majority stuck with their heritage; A great example being Kokichi and Shuichi themselves.

The knight tosses a tiny crisp of magic up into the air, and once she catches it, it grew on impact. Albeit bigger, but still considerably small, the crisp turned into an orb in the middle of her palm, irregularly and fitfully sparking with a mind of its own.

“Odd. It’s supposed to keep its shape.” Shuichi frowns, defeated, “I guess I’ve lost my touch.”

“Shuichi Saihara, one of the best knights known to man with swordplay that could put any soldier to shame isn’t phenomenal with magic? What a shock.” She scoffs, relaxing her stance a tad to give a playful sneer.

Shuichi chuckles in reply, her smile just as wide as the last, and this time Kokichi can’t tell if she wasn’t quick enough to catch its mendaciousness, or if it actually held any deceit at all. 

But either way, it makes her heart flutter. And, she nearly drops her sword.

_ Gods _ , the things that even a mere smile from this woman could do to her.

“And you, the best witch I’ve seen in all the years of my life, not be a master at blades? Unbelievable.”

Kokichi flushes, nearly going pink. “Spare your praises for after the spar.” She manages to deflect, voice nothing more than a pathetic stutter.

“Of course, my bad.” Apologizes the knight, forming yet another orb in the pit of her hand, “Shall we begin?”

Kokichi grips her sword in anticipation. “We shall.”

And thus, their battle begins.

She’s not even given a moment to think before a burst of magic soars her way, forcing her to jump to the left, barely evading the attack. Her boots skid against the dirt ground, leaving a trail before they come to a halt. The witch flees again as another ovoid is sent her way, escaping the hit by the skin of her teeth.

For a while, it's just that. Dodging hits, and looking for an opening. Even without her sword, without armour, Shuichi remained sturdy and protected, sealing every opening Kokichi tried to get at with a buckler of magic, and if the witch hadn’t jumped away a good distance between them already, punished the attempt with a strike of her own.

The spar was going nowhere, and eventually, even having the better stamina, she’d lose. And, that’d be fine. She was bound to anyways, but that wasn’t the point. Losing was inevitable, but winning wasn’t her  _ goal _ . She wanted to impress. Dazzling Shuichi regardless of if she came out victorious was what she was trying to achieve, and a mundane battle where she’d barely managed to make a dent into her clothing, let alone her actual body, was far from the objective.

It’s at that point does Kokichi stop searching for an egress to attack through, and instead thinks up a plan.

There's three things she realizes. Three crucial things that would grant her exactly astonishment and praise she wanted:

  1. **  
Shuichi isn’t used to magic, so she wouldn’t know how to carry it efficiently while moving from place to place.** Meanwhile, even though she wasn’t used to fighting melee, Kokichi knew how to move around. She knew how to stay mobile while continuing to attack the enemy even from a long shot. And given her small size, getting hit would be difficult if she was constantly running around. Shuichi, however, most likely didn’t bear the same skill. When it came to steel, she was as fast as could be, but as we’ve already established, magic was not her forte. That explained why she was making it apparent to stay in one place and to surround herself, and a bit of the terrain in magic, just to prevent any sly moves that would take advantage of her lack of vigour.
  2. **  
Shuichi can’t propel magic above a certain height.** One of her many, many, attempts to smite the knight through an opening had proved one thing: She couldn’t strike too far above her head. This meant that the sky was her weak spot essentially, and attacking or surprising her from there was free game. Most Xeadorians dipped their hands in the learning of magic up until the very basics but resorted to blades once they were taught enough. Shuichi didn’t differ. After all, Xeador was a land of the sword, and even though Shuichi herself had dared to grasp a better and more in-depth understanding of sorcery than the average Xeadorian soldier, she wasn’t any better than an apprentice of a Vudian shaman.
  3. **  
Shuichi protects only a singular spot when she’s attacked.** Although she shielded herself entirely for the majority of the time, whenever Kokichi happened to get too close, she’d only leave the general direction she was being attacked in safe. Everything else was free to thrash. 



Acknowledging these three properties, Kokichi takes action. Quickly, she heads for the forest that bordered the terrain, disappearing out of sight. It doesn’t take long to climb a tree, the act nearly second nature, where she can clearly see the ground from an eagle’s point of view.

Was this unfair? Probably. But was it against any rules? No.

It's then she realizes that Shuichi’s moved to the left a bit, looking around for where her opponent could’ve gone. In hindsight, the sudden move should’ve alerted Kokichi, even if it was probably the outcome of surprise, but the pride circling in her head didn’t allow her to think any more of it. 

A few moments of waiting for the right interval does she finally, quietly, fall to the floor, making  _ just enough _ noise to apprise the knight below. Saihara takes a sharp turn, shielding herself with a flux of magic, completely taken off guard. Kokichi’s third observation from earlier readies her though, and practically expecting it, she steers to the left, shoving the knight down with both a push and the side of her blade.

“Gotcha.” Giggles the witch, near breathless, “Got any last words?” She teases, cooing playfully.

Shuichi looks at her, disbelieved and defeated. Yet, she laughs, happy at the loss.

“You were fantastic. Nothing but expected from Vudian’s best witch.” She compliments, her words making Kokichi’s heart soar. 

Flattery from her meant the world and back.

“But sadly, I won’t be the one saying any last words.”

The shorter raises a brow. “Huh? What do you mea-”

And with a dash, they change positions. Shuichi vanishes in an instant, vacating the floor with a ‘poof!’ and presents herself behind the witch. An orb sends the confused Kokichi down to the ground, leaving the knight victorious.

“‘A Jester’s Disappearance’ was what the spell’s called, right? You taught me it yourself.”

Gah, of course. Yet another thing Kokichi’s learned from their years of teaching: Never spare Shuichi your tricks. She’ll use them when you least expect it.

“Beaten by my own trickery,” she sighs, letting go of her sword, “Clever Saihara, clever.”

“Why thank you. Means a lot coming from my favourite witch.” 

She goes pink again.

“I said save the praise for  _ after _ the spar.” 

“But this  _ is _ after, right? Unless you’re suggesting we go again?”

Kokichi licks her lips.

“I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Oh, and-,” She starts, hesitant, feeling her cheeks start to flush.

“Did... Did I impress you at all?”

Shuichi grins.

“You did more than impress, Kokichi.”

**Author's Note:**

> yo yo, thanks for reading. this sucks ass, but thanks for enduring through it! <3


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